The Nano-Lectures

As part of the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, and especially in honor of this
year’s ceremony theme —“Nano” — five of the
world’s great thinkers were invited to give Nano-Lectures.

Each Nano-Lecture was on an assigned topic. The lecturer was asked to explain
that topic twice:• FIRST, a complete technical description
in TWENTY-FOUR (24) SECONDS;• and THEN a clear summary that anyone
can understand, in SEVEN (7) WORDS.

The time and word limits were enforced by the Ig Nobel referee, Mr. John
Barrett, and the Ig Nobel V-Chip Monitor, prominent New York attorney William
J. Maloney.

Here are the complete transcripts of this year’s Nano-Lectures. Click
to see each one: